Self-Portrait

Louis-Adolphe Humbert de Molard

1846–47 · Daguerreotype · Photographs

Humbert de Molard, freed from financial concerns by the wealth of his land holdings in Normandy and perhaps missing the activity of Paris as he settled in the provincial town of Lagny, took up photography in 1843, just four years after its invention. A clever chemist and a skilled craftsman, he quickly mastered the new medium. In this, his only self-portrait daguerreotype, he exudes confidence—an expression that might appear cocky if his perfect technique, mastery of lighting effects, and surprising ability to pose himself with studied informality were not proved by the picture itself.

Artist

Louis-Adolphe Humbert de Molard

Date

1846–47

Medium

Daguerreotype

Department

Photographs

Credit line

Gilman Collection, Purchase, Joseph M. Cohen Gift, 2005